Yellow line:- B grade, T3 or Trial 3

[peterw]

I have a real concern where trials is heading.
At least one particular line anyway.
Yellow line:- B grade, T3 or Trial 3 (whatever you want to call it)

Look at the results in each particular state.
Why is the biggest class doing the blue line and yet the yellow line has only a small amount of riders.

Look closely at the results and the riders scoring low or at the winning edge are most likely A grades dropping back.
Now look at the score of the lower B graders who are trying their best at jumping to the next level after the blue line.
The scores are huge.

Look at the Blue line (plus Blue + for Victoria).
There is probably 10 riders with points below 10.
Even the first 5 riders are on 1 or 2 points.
This is not a class for those riders.
They should and can do yellow line quite easy.

Before too much is said, a very well-known multiple champion (Chris Leighfield) once told me, don’t criticize the ones that go out of their way and give up their time making trials happen for us all to enjoy.
Yes, very true but with a little education, I’m hoping we can get a better spread of riders in classes where they should be.

He’s my take on it.
In short, make the severity level of the “yellow line” slightly easier and this will encourage a few more riders into yellow and relieve the blue line of the top riders that really shouldn’t be there (in my opinion).

The severity level of any class doesn't make better riders.
It's the inner drive or ability of each rider to what class they end up getting to.

I’m sure this will create a lot of interest but just think about it before shooting me down.
Trial’s is a small sport and not exactly growing in numbers.
Let’s keep the fun in the classes that suit everyone.

Red, Expert is such a small class and they seem to get the level of difficulty to what they want anyway.

Who is responsible to make this happen?
Everyone.
Section setters, trial clubs and trial committees.
It may take some time but hopefully it can happen.

I’m coming off a knee ACL reconstruction which is why I’m doing Blue line this year but hopefully back to yellow next year.

Only constructive responses would be appreciated.

Peter

[Betaman]

I thought you blokes over there had a C+ grade over there that made the transition easier and also alleviated the problem of too many c graders.

[Jools]

Winesey makes some very good points well worth considering. Mind you 'fine-tuning' section lines can't be easy. And it's a lot of work too.
'Back in the day' riders who consistently did 'too' well in a particular class were promoted (possibly by peer pressure?) to a higher grade for the next season. Is this still happening to the same extent?

[peterw]

I thought you blokes over there had a C+ grade over there that made the transition easier and also alleviated the problem of too many c graders.

Yes correct, but the gap to yellow is still too large.

[peterw]

Winesey makes some very good points well worth considering. Mind you 'fine-tuning' section lines can't be easy. And it's a lot of work too.
'Back in the day' riders who consistently did 'too' well in a particular class were promoted (possibly by peer pressure?) to a higher grade for the next season. Is this still happening to the same extent?

Grading system.
Impossible in trials to a certain degree.
There is no national grading list and never will be.
We have 2 major governing bodies (MA AMA).
The ability level between states is slightly different.
Not to mention many states that don't even have a grading list.
Rider safety, you can't force them to a higher grade either.

[Jools]

Every other motor sport I can think of has a grading system Formula 1,2,3, A-grade, B-grade, C grade.
And we can't manage it because of 'rider safety'? - If the rider is being 'pushed up' to a higher grade, it's because he's winning too much in the lower grade - Obviously if he's winning that much in the lower grade there can't be a safety issue can there when he goes up. If he doesn't like it he can always do some intended fives!

[Kurt]

I think the main reason you tend to get a congregation at the C grade level is B Grade is the first grade where you begin to need to use the clutch to ride the obstacles.
In C grade you can ride all the obstacles with throttle control and body positioning.
The addition of the clutch and the required timing which goes with it starts to separate people on their inherent ability.

The same thing happens in the step from A grade to Expert, where you need to have the confidence in Expert to carry the front after obstacles in a way that isn’t required in A grade.
The obstacles become do or die generally, ie. If you don’t get it right you will crash in some manner and you don’t know you’re going to crash until you’re half way up the obstacle.

I personally don’t see the need to ‘grade’ riders into a grade, the grade they should be riding is the one that they want to enter. If they win all the time in the grade they want to enter, so be it. It is up to the remainder in that grade to practice to try and beat them.
Trials is an amateur sport in Australia where people are paying to participate and in my mind that means you can’t tell people what grade they can enter.

Jools - you can’t really compare many other types of motorsport to Trials as it doesn’t really matter what grade you’re in, you will still be able to get around the circuit albeit rather off the pace which can’t be said for Trials.

[Wes]

Interesting topic and definitely something that I have also observed going on. I am also stuck somewhere between C+ and B. I'm trying to push in to that Yellow line but it's a big step up, I would like to see more coaching available. I've been trying to get coaching for two years now in Victoria and there's nothing a side from Tim Coleman ( a five hour drive for me ) that I'm aware of. I guess you'll always get riders at either end of a grade, some are going to say it's set too hard and some too easy. Is it that the B grade riders at the pointy end make more noise when a trials set too easy for them? Would a B+ help keep those top yellow riders happy whilst providing an easier stepping stone in to B grade? Wouldn't work for all clubs obviously but maybe worth consideration.

[Betaman]

Yes correct, but the gap to yellow is still too large.

Well you next step is start talking to the movers and shakers at each club. Talk to the main sections setters. Talk to your committee members.

Make them realize they want trials to keep moving in the right direction and they want to see people turning up and people moving up thru the grades.

Killer sections no matter what grade do a very good job of turning away all but the most dedicated of riders.

[sybella]

Gone are the days when the sections where to hard you put your front wheel into the section and take a 5 .The biggest grades in trials are blue and white.Mostly full of old blokes,and junior's. We now have a split grade blue/ white c+ and a white/blue. A piece of plastic for everyone . Trials has gone away from what was a pathway to move through the grades ,3x easy, 3x medium, 3x hard. The 3x hard are normally set around the level of the 3x easy of the next grade ,this is how it was when Aussie titles had 40 odd riders in open solo . If you had a footy team with the average age of our current expert riders you would be worried . What scares me is there is a few experts that can ride vets. If things don't change these juniors will be riding hard enduro, and be lost to our sport